The Royal Family Prefers To Head To The Country For Their Summer Vacation

Before the Queen, Prince Philip, and their children and grandchildren (not to mention their great-grandchildren!) enjoy idyllic days spent outside of London, there's a few events some of them must attend first: garden parties and the Queen's favourite pastime, horse racing.

Every year, the Queen hosts four garden parties, three at Buckingham Palace and one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Combined, the parties host 30,000 people each summer to honour those who "have made a positive impact in their community," according to the Royal Family's website.

At each garden party, 27,000 cups of tea and coffee, 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cake are served while the guests wander the gardens hoping for a chance to be introduced to the Queen or other members of the Royal Family.

The Queen will also attend the Royal Ascot races in Ascot, Berkshire, England in June. Her Majesty has a vested interest in the races as she owns some of the top horses in the country, some of whom have even won races.

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Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Meghan Markle during The Prince of Wales' 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration held at Buckingham Palace on May 22.

Once the Queen has completed all of her royal duties, she and Prince Philip will head to Balmoral Castle, Scotland, for a two-month vacation.

Princess Eugenie described the home-away-from-home in the documentary "Our Queen at Ninety," saying, "It's the most beautiful place on earth. I think Granny is the happiest there ... walks, picnics, dogs, a lot of dogs — there's always dogs and people coming in and out all the time. Family-wise we're all there, so it's a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa to be — for us to come and see them up there where you just have room to breathe and run."

Members of the family come and go, but are almost always around for the Braemar Gathering, the most famous of the highland games which includes the caber toss, where competitors throw large tapered logs.

Queen Elizabeth also hosts the event royal staff look forward to, the Ghillies Ball, in which royalty and staff mingle and dance the night away.

Prince Charles described it as "such a special place, particularly because it was made by my grandmother. It is a childhood garden, and all I've done, really, is enhance it a bit" when referring to the work he has done over the years.

The family gathers on the 50,000-acre estate for hunts, picnics and barbecues by the river, where even the Queen, who reportedly does the washing up after, has been photographed eating from a plate on her lap.

Apart from Balmoral, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have previously spent most of their summers at their country home, Anmer Hall, in the village of Anmer in Norfolk, England.

While the family of five now live full-time in London, once their two oldest kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, finish the school year, it is highly likely they will escape to their countryside retreat.In the past, the Cambridges have been guests at the 16th-century Chateau La Rocque in the village of Pouydraguin.

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Anmer Hall.

As for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the newlyweds will return from their top secret honeymoon shortly (if they haven't already) and hit the ground running.

The duke and duchess have also reportedly signed a two-year lease for a home on the 4,000-acre Great Tew Estate in the Cotswolds. The estate is also home to Victoria and David Beckham's country house and Soho Farmhouse, which was founded by Markle's close friend Markus Anderson. Sounds like the perfect retreat for summer fun!